Rose is 5 Months old!

Rose is growing up so quickly. We have just been loving these days with her. Her personality seems very laid back and happy ;) She is very patient for the most part and hardly ever cries unless she REALLY needs something or has been injured by her sister ;()

Here are some of Rose's fun facts for the FIFTH MONTH of her life :)

* Early in the month she rolled over from back to front one time. But then this morning, she rolled from her back to her belly, then over again (in the same direction) from her belly to her back. I found her across the room! I was laughing so hard. She is getting to be on the move!

* Still her favorite thing is to lay on her back and kick her feet straight in the air and make the best noises!

* She has found her toes! She will grab her feet with her hands (when lying on her back) and pull her toes into her mouth. Maddy did the same thing and it just cracks me up!

* She is loving the exersaucer and the bumbo these days. She seems to like the upright view without having to hold herself up by herself.

* We have NOT started cereal or baby food YET. I am dragging my feet on this one - not totally looking forward to it -haha!

* She has been making the best sounds lately Lots of looooooong sounds some b's - but mostly "ahhhhhhhhhhhh" -not yelling or screaching though - just cute sounds - I LOVE it!

* Each morning when I put her on the changing table to get her dressed and change her, Maddy pulls up her little read plastic chair and watches the process. It's adorable because both girls are head to head and Maddy will say, "Good Morning Baby Rosie!" and Rose will just SMILE and SMILE! That is one of my favorite times of the day!

* Unfortunately she has finally reached the stage of not sleeping anywhere anymore. I blame that on sleep training and I guess her age too. She sure does love her bed! But I suppose the benefit of sleep training is that she won't cry when I put her down and usually gets herself to sleep in about five minutes!

 Notice the toys piled around her? Maddy wanted to be sure she had plenty of things to play with ;)

*Again, unfortunately, she has been waking up around 5:30 or 6 (when she used to sleep in until 7:30!) But that has only been for a few weeks - so I a hoping it's just a growth spurt. Fortunately though, I can sneak into the girls' room, grab her, bring her into bed, nurse her and then lay her back down in the bassinet in our room and she will fall right back asleep and Maddy doesn't even wake up. Or if she does, she will go back to sleep. So I am thankful for that!

Rose - you are such a blessing from the Lord to our family and we are so thankful for you :)

A Chicago Christmas

I know Christmas is long gone already, but I just had to post some pics of our fun day we had downtown during the holidays. First, we stopped by Macy's and looked at all of the Christmas decorations inside and tried to warm up a bit before our next stop. 

 Then we looked at all of the window displays outside.

After that, we walked a few streets over to the "Christkindl Market" here in Chicago. It's a Traditional  German American Holiday Market.  It was freezing, but we still had a blast! It was so cool  because it was like a little village down beneath all of these towering sky scrapers!

WE got some hot chocolate and a apple pecan pastry and walked around the shops. They were so quaint an fun. I really enjoyed myself. It was not Tim's thing, but he was so sweet to tough it out ;)

 The girls and I went inside of "Santa's Workshop" to get a picture with Santa. I was glad there was a bit of a line because the "workshop" was heated! Here is Mrs. Clause ;)

Merry Christmas - haha!

Chicken Roulade from "Food Loves Writing"

I just tried a new recipe that I found on "Food Loves Writing" - one  of my all time favorite food blogs! Shanna T'koy is  a friend of mine and she is a talented writer and chef! I always enjoy reading the blog posts and come away with some amazing and practical ideas!

This Chicken Roulade really wasn't too hard to make - it took a little bit of time, but it was WORTH it!  Tim, our friend Ashton, and I just LOVED it! Tim rated it a 9 out of 10 - which doesn't always happen! You should totally try it.

I did use spinach and actually just used grated Parmesan/Romano (you know from the can) that I had in the fridge. I also made a double batch of the spinach filling and tossed it with some tri-color spiral pasta along with some more parmesan for a side dish and it was really great.


Here is the recipe  from "Food Loves Writing" if you want to copy and paste it into a word document like I did!

Chicken Roulade
Adapted from Spinach Tiger
Serves about four.
Notes about this recipe: I really wish I had used Pecorino cheese like Angela did, but I was trying to work with what I had on hand, and that was mozzarella—I would def do the Pecorino next time. Also, although I used spinach, I think chard would give a sharper flavor contrast.
Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, flattened*
Olive oil for browning meat
Flour (I used white spelt)
1/2 large onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons nuts (Angela used pine nuts; I used slivered almonds)
2 teaspoons dried fruit (I used cranberries), soaked in water
1 bunch spinach (or chard), washed and chopped finely
2 teaspoons pecorino romano cheese, freshly grated
Sea salt, black pepper to taste
Directions:
*To flatten the chicken, put them in a big Ziplock bag and use a cast iron pan or something similar to flatten them as much as you can. Then, salt them and set aside so they come to room temperature.
Prepare the filling: Heat diced onion and oil in pan. Once onion is softened and almost golden, add the garlic and cook for about a minute, being careful not to burn. Add nuts to toast, stirring pan. Drain dried fruit, dice and add to pan. Add in stalks of greens and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add in leaves, continuing stirring pan, incorporating all ingredients. Turn heat off. Greens will continue to cook. Do not overcook. Allow to to come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Assemble the chicken: Sprinkle cheese on flattened chicken breasts and then top with the prepared greens mixture. Roll up as tightly as you can (don’t stress about it like I did; it will all work out) and tie each with three strings of kitchen twice, one in middle and one at each end (or however you want to tie them to keep these babies closed).
Roll the tied chicken in flour. Pan fry until browned, turning to each side. Finish in hot 375-degree oven for 10 to 20 minutes.
Allow chicken to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Healthy Girls

I am thankful for two healthy girls today. We came home from a wellness visit at the pediatrician and Maddy is two and 34 1/4 inches tall and weighs 22 lbs. Rose is 4 months and is 25 inches and weighs 11 lbs.  2oz. The doctor says they look fabulously healthy and that makes a mama happy :) Plus the colds and Pink Eye are gone. Praise the Lord! I never seem to be as thankful for health until after we have all been sick, ya know?